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The 10 richest Singaporeans

Altogether, their total amount of wealth dropped by 20% to US$32.5 billion.

Singapore Business Review compiled a list of top 10 billionaires in Singapore with updated figures obtained from consultancy firm Wealth-X. To better gauge how much the billionaires’ wealth grew over the last year, the data were compared with Forbes’ estimates in 2014 as shown in its annual list of Singapore’s 50 richest. The total amount of wealth estimated by Wealth-X for the 10 richest is 20% lower than the US$40.6 billion reported by Forbes.

Paint maker Goh Cheng Liang more than doubled his wealth to US$8.2 billion but all others in the list registered decline in net worth.

The 10 richest Singaporeans

Rounding up the top 10 list of Singapore’s richest is retired chairman of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC), Leng Seng Wee with US$1.5 bn (S$2.04 bn) net worth. Forbes ranked Mr Leng last year at 16th place with accumulated assets amounting to US$1.6 bn (S$2.18 bn). Mr Leng still sits on the board of OCBC, one of Singapore’s largest banks. He also chairs the board of trustees at Temasek Trust.

Singapore's "Popiah King" Sam Goi is ranked 9th richest in the city with US$1.6 bn net worth. The chairman of Tee Yih Jia Foods, exporter of frozen foods, was at 13th place in Forbes’ list in 2014 with net worth valued at US$2.1 bn (S$2.86 bn).

Popularly known as OK Lim, oil trader Lim Oon Kuin is the 8th placer with US$1.9 bn (S$2.58) net worth. Mr Lim was at 14th place at Forbes’ richest in the city list in 2014 with his US$2bn (S$2.72 bn) net worth. Before building his privately held Hin Leong Trading into one of Singapore’s biggest oil traders, Mr Lim started with one truck delivering diesel to fishermen more than five decades ago.

Kuok Khoon Hong, Co-founder and CEO of palm oil giant Wilmar International, tied with Lim (Peter) Eng Hock at 6th place with US$2.3 bn (S$3.13 bn) net worth. The figure is a tad lower from his net worth of $2.4 bn ($3.26 bn) last year as estimated by Forbes. Kuok was ranked 10th at Forbes’ list of the 50 richest in Singapore in 2014.

Property and hotel magnate, Kwek Leng Beng, ranked 5th with a net worth of US$2.4 bn (S$3.26 bn). The figure shows a drastic drop from the US$7.8bn (S$10.6 bn) net worth estimated by Forbes last year which made the Executive Chairman of Hong Leong Group second richest on its list.

Kwek also helms listed property giant City Developments Limited (CDL). Today, Hong Leong Group has over 40,000 employees worldwide and its global footprint spans more than 25 countries, from China, the US, Europe, to Australasia and Asia.

Banking stalwart Wee Cho Yaw is fourth on the list with US$3.4 bn (S$4.62bn) net worth. The figure is however over 80% lower than Forbes’ estimate of his worth last year which was valued at US$6.2 bn (S$8.43bn). Wee Cho Yaw is the chairman emeritus of United Overseas Bank, one of Singapore's top 3 banks and the second largest by market capitalization. He was also ranked fourth richest by Forbes in 2014. The former best paid local banking executive, with a remuneration of between S$9m and S$9.25m in 2006, continues to advise the bank in his honorary role.

Philip Ng, the Chief Executive Officer of a family-owned property development and investment group operating in Singapore and Malaysia, the Far East Organization, is ranked second with $4.5bn (S$6.12 bn) net worth. He is also the Director of the Hong Kong-based Sino Group, which is Far East Organization's sister company, engaging in real estate activities in Hong Kong and China.

If Philip Ng’s net worth was combined with that of Robert Ng’s US$4.4 bn (S$5.98bn), the brothers would be Singapore’s richest with total figure amounting to US$8.9 bn (S$12.10 bn). The total figure however is 30% lower than Forbes’ estimate of $12.8 bn last year.

In 2014, the man who once sold fishing nets during World War II cemented his half century-old partnership with Japan’s Nippon Paint Holdings after he boosted his stake in the Japanese company to 39%. The move made him the largest shareholder in Asia’s biggest paint maker.

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